Promise
by ZoeHatake
Summary: Sequel to "The Beginning for Everything," Zoe's being targeted! Can Kakashi protect his little sister? family love sucky summary R&R rated T for occasional swearing
1. Chapter 1

One Day

Disclaimers: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!

**it's in Zoe's point of view…**

**Yup, I gave up on the 3****rd**** person point of view…**

**This is my second fanfiction and a sequel to "The Beginning For Everything."**

**So if you didn't read "the beginning for everything," I HIGHLY suggest that you read it, otherwise you might not understand what's happening the story.**

**Ok so let's start!**

**Keys:**

_Thought shots or sounds_

"Dialog…"

If any flashbacks occur, the warning: "**FLASHBACK**" will show.

* * *

So, it's been six months since I've returned to Konoha and yup, you guessed it… I'm stuck with Team Kakashi. I'm like a sensei slash a student… you know what I mean?

So the day starts with the same daily routine. Kakashi wakes me up, I get dressed, we head out and he and I go separate ways. He goes to the KIA stone and I just wonder around the village to kill time. And somehow we always end up showing up at the same time. Amazing huh? And when we show our faces, Naruto and Sakura goes…

"YOU GUYS ARE LATE!!!!!!!" and Kakashi and I try to make up an excuse to get through the day. And they go…

"LIARS!!!" and we move on with our shinobi lives.

One morning, I woke up feeling something was different. I looked around the room. Yup, I'm in my bed… and Kakashi's on the floor. I look down at my clothes. Yep, I'm wearing my PJs. What's so different? I didn't know myself.

"That's rare…" Kakashi's groggy voice broke my train of thoughts. I look at him and saw his only one visible eye staring at me.

"What's rare?" I asked.

"You are getting up earlier than I do. Now I know something's off."

I just stared at him for a moment, just shrug it off and got up.

**(One hour later)**

I was still in my own little world. What was this… feeling? I was getting this strange feeling that something weird is going to happen. Gah… too much thinking… maybe I'm going nuts. Yup! That's gotta be it! So I just shrugged it.

**(Two Hours later)**

"YOU GUYS ARE LATE!!!!!!!!!" there goes Naruto and Sakura.

"Well, you see I got lost in the path of…" Kakashi began, but sadly, his little lie got interrupted by his students'…

"LIARS!!!!!!!"

"Neh, Zoe-sensei… why are you so quiet?" Sakura came up (which I didn't even notice… wow I AM going nuts.) and asked.

"Hmm? Oh sorry I was just thinking… heheh…" I just shook it off.

"Well, let's go to the Hokage mansion and get our missions and move on with our lives." Kakashi droned on. And without another word from either one of them, we moved out.

* * *

**-Hokage Mansion-**

"Well, we don't have much so we're just going to assign you guys a C-ranked mission." Tsunade said in her regular demanding voice. And… yup you guessed it… Naruto exploded.

"WHAT?!?!?!?!?!??!!! TSUNADE-BAACHAN!!! NO THANK YOU! I want a mission that I can prove myself!"

"Fine, prove yourself that you are a mature shinobi by taking a mission that the hokage had assigned and complete it!" Tsunade barked back. And the rest of us; Kakashi, Sakura, and I, were just watching this daily scene.

"…FINE!" Naruto finally gave up and stomped out.

Tsunade-sama seemed pretty happy with her win in her battle. Kakashi stepped out and got the mission details. The mission was to deliver a message to the nearby town that I couldn't care less about.

* * *

**-Konoha Gate-**

"Gahhh!! When will Tsunade-baa-chan understand that I'm capable of carrying out S- ranked mission, or missions that I can seriously kick some ass?!!" Naruto complained as usual.

_BAM _Yup, Sakura got him to shut up.

I just stared at them, decided to stay out of their little brawl. But I still couldn't get that strange feeling out of my mind.

"Alright! Let's move out!" Kakashi called. And we moved out.

**(After Two hours of running and dodging and who know what else)**

"OHH Thank you BRAVE NINJAS!!!" the client squealed. The client was a woman who was about, no taller than Naruto and was chubby. And we head back, walking. Of course, Naruto went nuts saying we can go faster and all, but again Sakura got another punch in him.

After walking for about thirty minutes of silence, I felt that strange feeling that I felt in the morning. I tensed up and started to focus for chakra signatures. Bingo, north of me, two o'clock. I reached for my shuriken and thrust it on the big tree. Everyone stared at me; well at least I think they were staring at me.

"You know… you should come out…" I called out.

_Tak…_

I saw the foot. I kept my guard up, waiting for the shinobi that was tailing us.

"Hmm… nicely done, Zoe was it?" a voice came.

"That voice!" Naruto went.

"Show yourself!" I yelled. And I saw him. He had a silver-ish blue hair, pulled up into a ponytail. He had glasses and had the headband with the symbol, the sound village. He had purple shirt and pants. He… smirked at me!

"Kabuto." I confirmed.

"What do you want?" Naruto growled.

"No offense, Naruto. I'm not here to get you," Said Kabuto, then he looked at… me?!

"Then WHO are you after?" Kakashi spat.

"Simple. Your little sister," Kabuto blurted out. And within a blink of an eye, Naruto was in front of me, guarding me.

_OY! I CAN PROTECT MYSELF!!!_ I raged in my mind.

"How's this? Let's make an exchange. You let me have Zoe and in return, I'll give Sasuke back," said Kabuto. What the hell is wrong with this bastard?! He thinks I'm an object that you can just trade?! Oh, he's going to get it now!

"Heh, I really doubt that Kabuto," said Sakura with a sad look on her eyes.

"What does Orochimaru want with Zoe?" Kakashi pressed.

"Orochimaru-sama became interested in her since she was ten. But apparently he was in perfect shape and she had no knowledge of her abilities. So he decided to wait. Now, he believes that it's time. Her abilities are legendary, so hand her over." Kabuto explained. What an idiot! No sensible shinobi reveals their true plot.

"LIKE THAT WOULD EVER HAPPEN!!!" Naruto began, "TELL THAT LOW-LIFE SNAKE TO COME OUT OF HIS LITTLE HOLE AND FACE HER HIMSELF INSTEAD OF SENDING A SUCH SPY! HE'S A WIMP!"

"You're going to regret that!" Kabuto spat.

"No you're going to regret ever coming after me!" I growled and slapped my hand on the ground, and soon enough, Kabuto to captured by my earth. But it was a replacement.

"You're not going to get me that easily!" Kabuto sneered. I turned around and saw him, up close. I quickly took out my kunai and stabbed him on his arm. But he shook it off like it was nothing. Then he extended his arms, grabbed my head, and thrust my head on a tree.

_Crack_ Oh God, did I just hear a crack?!

Luckily, Sakura got a heck of a punch in his guts and sent him flying. He landed with a thud, thus creating a dent where he landed.

_Dang… I do NOT want to be on her bad side…_ I thought. I stood up and charged at him. I gathered some chakra on my palm on my hand and got ready to strike.

_NOW!!_ My mind roared as I thrust my hand against his chest. And there he goes, flying and landed again with a sickening thud.

"COUGH…" went Kabuto, blood dripping from a corner of his mouth. "How dare you!"

"I couldn't care less what the hell happens to you!" I bellowed.

"I'll be back… better be prepared…" he let out a chuckle and disappeared.

I felt lightheaded, every time I blinked, I saw black spots.

"ZOE-SENSEI!!!" Sakura called. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine…" but my body didn't cooperate. Soon enough, I was engulfed by darkness. The last thing I remembered was Sakura's voice… screaming.

* * *

My second fanfiction! :D tell me how you feel about it! :D Read and Review please! :D

there's more emotion... now that it's in certain someone's point of view.


	2. Nightmare

Nightmare

Disclaimers: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!

**it's in Zoe's point of view…**

**Keys:**

_**Dream thoughts (Zoe's point of View)**_

_Thought shots or sounds_

"Dialog…"

If any flashbacks occur, the warning: "**FLASHBACK**" will show.

_

* * *

_

Ughh…… everything is white…

I opened my eyes. Everything was blurry for sometime, then things became clear. I felt something around my head, bandages?

"Oh! She's awake!" I heard a loud and yet obnoxious voice. Oh I know whose voice that was… Naruto. I sat up, groaning in the process. Then I saw Sakura, Tsunade, a random nurse, and Kakashi by my side.

"Well, you sure do know how to make people worry about you," Kakashi mumbled, frowning.

"Zoe, do you know who I am?" Tsunade asked with a serious tone.

_What? Is this a joke? Of course I know her… why is she asking me this?_

"Of course milady, you are the Hokage of Konoha." I answered, clearly confused. Then she pointed to Kakashi.

"Do you know who this man is?" she asked again.

"That's Kakashi Hatake, also my older brother. Tsunade-sama, is there a reason why you're asking me these random questions?" I asked.

"Oh good, you know. I just wanted to make sure that you don't have amnesia. You got hit on your head pretty badly. Badly enough to cause amnesia," Tsunade paused and said, "Kakashi told me about your encounter with Kabuto…"

"Oh… well don't worry, as you can see, I don't have amnesia." I smiled. I pretended that I didn't hear that last part.

"Well, that good." Kakashi sighed of relief.

"Umm Tsunade-sama, when will I be released from the hospital?" I asked.

"Hmm… I take it that you hate hospitals too?" Tsunade raised one eyebrow.

"Yup," I replied, pretty blunt if you ask me.

"_Sigh _well; I'm pretty sure that you won't stay in the hospital quietly like someone here." Tsunade pointed at Kakashi, smirking. I just nodded; I just didn't know how to answer her.

"SWEET!!!!!! I'm glad that you're finally being released from the hospital!" Naruto exclaimed. Wait… finally?

"Hey Kakashi, how long have I been in the hospital?" I asked.

"About four days."

"Oh." And I decided to drop it there. Tsunade-sama did a thorough examination before she officially released me from the hospital. Then it hit me, why I was in the hospital! I was injured by Kabuto. How could I let that slip by so easily? Wow… am I really this slow? Even Tsunade-sama said something about that.

The rest of the day was the same as usual. I cooked dinner, no matter how much Kakashi asked me to not to push myself. I made his favorite, miso with eggplant. After dinner, I decided to go to bed early. So I took a quick shower, hopped into bed and fell asleep. Then things started to go bad.

* * *

-Zoe's nightmare-

"_Fufufu… you think you can essscape me? You think you're ssstronger than me, just because you abilitiesss are legend?" said a voice._

_**What the hell? Who said that**__ I thought. Then I saw my mom, smiling at me. Oh, how much I missed her warm face! I ran towards her and ready to embrace her. But she disappeared. I felt empty and sick at the same time. The flashback of her dying appeared. Then I saw a man that had Kakashi's hair and had so much resemblance. Dad! I stood there, dumbfounded. Then when he smiled at me, I ran towards him, I want to hug him to much and launched at him. Then he disappeared. I landed with a thud. _

"_Don't you want them back? I can bring them back to you, only if you join me… fufufu you don't have to go through what Kakassshi went though…" the voice mocked at me._

"hey wake up!" I heard another voice.

"_join me… and I can bring them back to life…" it repeated._

"HEY! WAKE UP!" I heard again, but louder.

"_Join me… and you can ssssee them again…" it rang._

"Sorry, but you're forcing me to do this!" the voice apologized. Wait, why did the voice number two apologize?

_ZAP!_ Oh, I see. I felt an electric shock going through my system. Immediately I woke up, then I saw Kakashi's face, worried and confused at the same time. I felt something wet on my forehead, sweat. I sat up, breathing heavily. I don't know when, but I started to break down and cried. Kakashi held me, rubbing my back.

"It's okay, it was just a dream," he said.

"What was that…?" I was gasping, as if I couldn't breathe. Soon enough, I calmed down. Then I looked up and saw Kakashi's face, so worried and confused.

"What was the dream about?" he asked. It was more like a demand.

"I… I'm not sure… I saw mom and dad… and when I tried to hug them, they disappeared. A strange voice kept on repeating, "Join me, I can bring them back to life…"" another stream of tears went down my face. Kakashi looked like he was going to kill someone.

"Kakashi?" I called.

"Do you remember how the voice sounded like?" he asked.

"It was like… a snake like voice. It slurred on everything that had "s"" He hugged me tightly, soothing me, or trying to.

"Nothing's going to happen to you, I won't let that happen."

"Did I wake you up?" I asked the stupidest question ever. Of course I did!

"Hmm, well you did… otherwise I wouldn't be normal. You were screaming and yelling and… it was just agonizing."

"I'm scared..." it was the first time I said something like that. Everything I went though, I did it myself. I left on my own, I trained, I lived alone, and I thought of myself strong and fearless. But, all I was doing was covering that up. Now I was too scared to sleep.

"You're scared to sleep, aren't you?" Kakashi asked, with soft eyes. I just nodded, I couldn't trust my voice. I guess he was holding me, cuz I felt him laying me down. "Don't worry; I don't let anything happen to you. I'm not letting the same thing happen again. Tomorrow, maybe we should talk to Tsunade-sama."

"Nah, it only happened once. Maybe if this keeps on happening, then I'll do something about it." I shrugged it off. Kakashi looked worried, but he also decided to let it go. He finally let me go and went back to sleep.

* * *

-The next morning…-

"YOU GUYS ARE LATE!!!!" off they go… they practically blasted my eardrums. I looked at Kakashi. He looked pretty tired. I felt bad, because I caused this. He didn't even bother to make an excuse. I was tired too.

"Neh, Zoe-sensei, you don't look well, are you alright?" Sakura, once again, went up to my face and asked.

"I'm just tired that's all."

"Oh I see."

When we went to the Hokage Mansion, Kakashi asked for D-ranked mission, missions that didn't involve him at all. He pulled me out of the lame missions though, saying that I needed rest. But I didn't really sleep; I just watched my teammates cleaning the river. I can hear Naruto grumbling that Kakashi's playing favorites. I felt guilty.

The rest of day was the same as usual. When I went to bed, I practically prayed that I wouldn't dream that again. I guess I didn't pray hard enough, cuz soon enough, I had the same dream but a little bit different.

* * *

-Zoe's nightmare-

"_Fufufu… you think you can essscape me? Nice try little girl…"_

_**Go away!!**_ _I didn't need this… not again._

"_Oh, my child, don't be like that…"_

"_Why don't you face me!? You're a coward! Show yourself!!" I yelled at the darkness. Then I got what I wanted. I saw a man with long black hair. He had pasty white skin and on his eyelids, there was like a purple eye shadows. He was smirking at me. That face… it hit me like kunai knife stabbing at me. It was Orochimaru!_

"_Damnit, why are you here?" I demanded._

"_I want you to join me, be my body. Then you can sssee your parentsss again. Not only YOU can ssssee them again, your brother can sssee them again." He slurred. "Don't you want your brother to ssssee his parents again? Don't you want to finally meet your father? Give me your answer within three days, before your comrades begin to fall… " Damn… he's… just… I can't even describe it! I wanted to cry right there! He was mocking me._

"WAKE UP!!!" this time I just bolted right up, ran to the bathroom and hurled up everything I had for dinner. I coughed for several times and started to cry again. Why is this happening to me? Why did Orochimaru want me? He had Sasuke… wasn't the sharingan enough for him? I felt so pressured. I felt like this has to be done by me. Then, I felt a warm hand rubbing my back. It was Kakashi, I just know it. I stood up, flushed the toilet, washed my mouth and head towards the living room. I flopped onto the couch and caught my breath. Everything was hard on me.

"This is the second time. Maybe we should take to Tsunade-sama…" Kakashi's relaxed voice broke my thoughts.

"I'm sorry…"

"Hmm? For what?" he asked, confused.

"I'm being selfish…"

"Selfish?"

I just nodded my head.

"What are you talking about? What happened in the dream this time?" he asked.

"It was… Orochimaru…" I whispered. When I managed to choke out that sentence, I felt like I could hear a pin drop. It was dead silent.

"What did he say?" he demanded.

"He said that if I join him," I paused, "he said he would bring our parents back to life…" I was scared. I didn't know what to do, to get rid of him. Should I just keep go through this, or should I face him once and put an end to this? I felt weak. I felt a pair of arms around my shoulders.

"Forget him… just… ignore everything that he said anything. He won't bring them back to life anyways," he paused and gave me an eye smile, "what happened, happened. Past is a past, we move on." I nodded but in my heart, it was tearing in half

* * *

Yeah, lots of emotions and confusions...


	3. Mission

Mission

**It's in Zoe's point of view…**

**Keys:**

_**Dream thoughts (Zoe's point of View)**_

_Thought shots or sounds_

"Dialog…"

If any flashbacks occur, the warning: "**FLASHBACK**" will show.

* * *

The next morning, Kakashi decided that it was time to talk to Tsunade-sama. I didn't want to go and talk to the Hokage because of some stupid dream. Plus, it was a day off. I might as well as train myself instead of talking to the Hokage. So in the end, Kakashi had to drag me to her office, literally.

* * *

-The Hokage's Office-

_Knock Knock_

"Enter!" Kakashi walked in first and I entered last and closed the door.

"Kakashi, Zoe, what bring you two here today?" Tsunade-sama asked.

"Go on, you need to tell her this," Kakashi whispered. Tsunade-sama seemed to catch this, she gave me her attention. I'm here in her office; I might as well as go on and say it.

"Well, I've having these… dreams," I began.

"Dreams?" Tsunade asked with interest.

"It… involves your old teammate milady." I could feel her tense up.

"Is it about… Orochimaru?" she demanded. I simply nodded.

"What does he want from you?" she asked.

"… He wants me to… join him… He demanded for a respond within three days from now." I hesitated.

"Wasn't the Uchiha bloodline enough for him?" she growled. She lowered her head and gave a long sigh. "So, did you answer him?"

"Huh?"

"Did you give him your answer to his little… demand?" she repeated.

"No, I always wake up from that. I'm sorry; I'm just wasting your time. I just thought you might be able to help." I apologized.

"Shizune, call one of the ANBU specialist," she ordered.

"Hai!" and without another word, she ran out the door.

"I'm going to have one of the ANBU to put a Sleeping Jutsu so you can give him the answer. Tell him that you agree." She was about to continue before I interrupted her.

"What?! You're expecting me to betray the village?!" I fumed.

"I wasn't finished!" she barked. "Make an arrangement with him. Tell him that you'll meet him whenever he tells you. This will become an official S-ranked mission. You are to finish Orochimaru. You can't keep this up; your mental state is shaky enough. You will be accompanied by other jounins and chunins of the village. Don't worry, I'm pretty sure Kakashi here would do anything to protect his little sister." She smiled. Then the door flew open. I spun around and found Naruto and Sakura.

"Does this "mission" apply to us Grandma!?" Naruto yelled.

"Well, she IS a member of Team Kakashi, so yes."

"Naruto…" I began. The blue eyed genin looked at me, waiting for me to finish.

"Kabuto said that he would exchange me with Sasuke, right? But why not trade me with him? Isn't he your best friend?" I asked.

"Are you crazy? You're Kakashi-sensei's sister! There's no way I'm going to separate family members! Not that sensei will allow that anyways." He smiled at me, it was a nice smile. "Beside, I really doubt that he would let Sasuke-teme go." Soon, there was a smoke in front of me. A member from ANBU with a hawk mask was in front of me.

"Are you ready?" the masked ninja asked me. I just nodded my head slowly.

"We're coming too!" Sakura jumped in. Naruto nodded. He nodded… that's… rare.

"She's part of Team Kakashi; we want to support her!" Naruto boomed. Yup, too good to be true.

"Very well, follow me." The ANBU ordered and led us to a dark room.

"Sit." I sat in a chair. There were other ANBU members; there one with a wolf mask and a lizard mask. They performed a various kinds of hand signs and I felt drowsy, with an instant, I fell asleep.

* * *

-Zoe's Nightmare-

_**I have to be calm, remember the mission **__I thought to myself._

"_Fufufu… you sssseem more… calm than the past two daysss. Have you made a decissssion?" I felt icy hands lift my chin. Weird, it feels like I'm being touched by him for real._

"_Yes I have." __**Keep your poker face Zoe…**__ "I will join and serve as your vassal." I tried my best to keep a straight face._

"_Oh… I'm glad that you're joining me my child…" he pauses, "what made to change your mind?" he asked. __**DUH! He's suspicious!!!**_

"_I didn't want to be selfish anymore. I want Kakashi to see our parent again… and also I want to see my father…" I trailed on._

"_Well then, meet me at the Valley of the End a week from now. Meet me at exactly midnight." He seems to have shrugged it off. But I doubt that he's afraid at all. His pale face disappeared and I came to my senses._

"Ah!" I shot up, but Kakashi pushed me back down.

"Shhh…just go back to sleep, I'm sure he won't bug you anymore." He whispered. But I shook my head.

"I need to inform Tsunade-sama while the information is still fresh in my mind." And I ran out of the room. I stopped for a moment, saw that Naruto and Sakura was there… waiting. They bolted up and ran up to me. I nodded to them and ran to the Hokage's Office.

* * *

-Hokage's Office-

_Knock knock…_

"Enter!"

"Tsunade-sama." I entered, along with my teammates and my brother tailing along.

"So, how did it go?" she asked.

"It went well. I made an arrangement with him," I began.

"Well, let's hear it."

"He told me, a week from now to meet at the Valley of the End at midnight." I continued. _The dream was unusually realistic._

"Alright, I want you to get well rested; considering that he was interfering with your sleep and train as hard as you can within those days. Seven days are not enough to change someone completely; but it's better than nothing." She ordered, and without another word, we; as in Team Kakashi, let her office. _Look out snake, I'm going after you… better be ready._

Tune in!


	4. Face Off

**Face Off**

**It's in Zoe's point of view…**

**In this chapter, the point of view changes to Kakashi as well.**

**Keys:**

_**Dream thoughts (Zoe's point of View)**_

_Thought shots or sounds_

"Dialog…"

If any flashbacks occur, the warning: "**FLASHBACK**" will show.

* * *

For the past week, I've been getting more rest and well… more training. I mostly worked on my chakra controls, not my elements. I need to get used to fighting like a regular shinobi, not some "legend" who's being targeted by a low-life snake.

The daily routine will go like this: I wake up around like ten (A.M. OF COURSE!), I eat breakfast, and then I run off for more chakra controlling training. I come home somewhat pissed at myself because I wasn't feeling stronger and have dinner. Kakashi would be with his students, well I kind of waved him off; I told him that I had to do this myself.

Well, those seven days went… fast? It was already to face Orochimaru. I highly doubt that he's going to bring Sasuke. So we met up at the gate, fully equipped, rested and charged. According to Kakashi, the Valley of the End was about one hour run. So much for being fully rest and charged.

We left about around nine, night time. We took our time to be ready for our final face off. But, Orochimaru's goons had their own little plan. First, they took Kakashi; this fat dude, but fast for his… weight, challenged him. He made us go for it and we continued, despite how much I wanted to stay and fight with him. Then another attacked; a kid who is no taller than Naruto challenged, well Naruto. He made us; Sakura, Sai, and me to go ahead. Then there was one shinobi who can manipulate animals challenged Sai. So I was left with Sakura, the medic. But that didn't end there. This slut showed up, apparently she was showing her body more than needed, and had a super strength face off with Sakura.

Now, I was left alone. I went ahead myself. This needed to end right now. After running for thirty minutes, consecutively, I arrived at the Valley of the End. It was a full moon, so this was an advantage for me. Plus there was a large waterfall, my source of the element. Perfect! I waited around for about an HOUR. Well on the bright side, I caught by breath and was ready to kick that bastard's ass, but I wanted this is start now.

_Poof!_

"Sorry to keep you waiting my child, but apparently you made it harder than it needed to be." Orochimaru slurred.

"Hmph," was the only I said to him.

"Well, let's test your skills; after all, I might as well as not get you right now if you're not useful, am I not correct?" He said ever so slowly.

"Fine," I spat and took out my kunai. "Ready when you are _my lord_," I smirked.

He gave a, rather dramatic, sigh. "Well, it's not surprising to find your betrayal."

"What the hell are you talking about? I didn't even start "working" for you yet!" I yelled. This guy was getting on my last nerve; and I'm patient like Kakashi, but damn, this guy drives me nuts.

"Sure…" and a slim sword came out of his mouth. I could see the saliva on it, GROSS! I reached for my shurikens and threw four. He swung his sword and sent my shuriken flying in many different directions. I just charged at him at that point. Taijutsu first, his sword and my kunai clashed and the battle broke out.

_Cling, shhiiinnnggg…. Tak_

The battle was like this for sometime now and I was getting bored. So, I decided to bring out the big guns, despite my disadvantages, I used my fire element in a new way. You know how Orochimaru regenerates his snakes with when the snakes' heads are chopped off? Well, I got sick and tired of that, so I decided to chop it off and burn it immediately.

"Summoning; Hundred Snake!" he yelled.

"HAH!" I used my kunai to chop it off and used my fire element char the neck and the flesh. Well, that caused him to twitch a bit. I saw his lips twitch a bit too.

"Well, I can't use that technique now."

"Don't be too confident!" I bellowed. I quickly created a clone and brought up a large body of water. My clone made it hang for a bit and then causes it to rain down, in shapes of million needles. It was a shower of needles. As soon as it hit Orochimaru, it caused an explosion.

* * *

(Kakashi's Point of View)

Well, it turned out that the fatty was pretty weak. But he was just stalling me. I looked towards the direction of the Valley of the End. I saw a smoke coming from that direction. So, the battle was already under its way. I tied the fatty to a tree, put him under a genjutsu, and headed towards the direction of Zoe and Orochimaru.

I began to sprint as fast as I could, then I slowed down and saw Naruto and Sai right at my tail.

"Kakashi-sensei, we sent Zoe and Sakura-chan ahead for the face off!" Naruto called. I just nodded my head and focused on my speed.

"Kakashi-sensei!!!!!" I heard a familiar kunoichi's voice ring. Wait… didn't Naruto just say that Sakura was with Zoe?! She left her alone?! I turned and saw Sakura pretty beat up. She gave me an apologetic look on her face. I immediately doubled my sprinting speed. They seemed to catch on the idea and began to increase their speed. We had no time to lose, at this rate; Zoe's going to get killed!

* * *

(Zoe's Point of View)

_Gasp, gasp, pant, pant, pant…_ God, this was exhausting! I was running out of energy and fighting the dizzy feeling from releasing the clones. But it satisfied me to see Orochimaru tired as well. I look the time to look around; it was a mess, period. The cliff was caving in, there were weapons and snake's heads lying around everywhere, and there were different parts and sizes of rocks everywhere.

"Not bad little girl, you managed to cut off the time and space portal with your chakra by inserting your chakra into my body…" he panted.

"Now, we don't have any interference." I charged at him and disappeared with a "poof." I was actually underground; setting up my little trap. I set four scrolls, making a big square within a hundred yards. Then right before I performed the "head hunter Jutsu," I placed a poison paper bomb; an odorless, colorless poison that slows down the opponents' five senses if they get a whiff of it. Then I popped up to the surface. He didn't seem surprised. His look said, "That's-the-oldest-trick-in-the-book-of-oldest-trick-in-ninja-world." I backed up, just outside of my rectangle. I was ready. He began to charge at me, but that's when I blow up my bombs and he got at least a lung full of that. He didn't seem to care what it was. Immediately, I clasped my palms together and…

"RELEASE!!!" I yelled.

"WHAT?!" Orochimaru growled back. Soon enough, from the four corners, there were kanji letters coming out of the scrolls and made a rectangle. He seemed clueless. What the hell? Does he have trick up on his sleeve? I continued. I made a snake seal and spikes of raw chakra come up to the surface and paralyzed Orochimaru. It was my raw chakra, nothing can penetrate that! There was blood where the spikes had pierced through. He seemed to be sweating and in pain. Now, I was ready to chop his neck off. I charged towards him and was ready to stab him. But not even after 5 feet from where I charged from, I saw a purple chakra striking at me! I immediately sent a stream of my chakra as well.

* * *

(Kakashi's Point of View)

I looked up in the sky and felt a lurch in my guts. Something's going to happen. Then I looked up, I saw a light glow in the sky, which should be pitch black.

"We're almost there!" I called to my students and not really junior from ANBU. They nodded and sped up. _Wait a bit longer, we're almost there._

We, my team and I, reached to the Valley of the end. Well, we arrived at the other side of the battle. We saw two charka strikes made with raw chakra! One was blue and the other was purple. I began to run towards the battle scene. Within minutes, we got a closer view of the battle. Zoe was in the barrier and so was Orochimaru. I know that Zoe had developed a technique with her chakra control to take her skills to the next level, thus creating the "Four Cornered Barrier," and I've seen her use it before. But the chakra strike was not a part of it. This was Orochimaru's doing.

* * *

(Zoe's POV)

_Damn… gasp gasp… _it's hard to fight against the chakra like this. Not only that this attack was taking my chakra away, so I felt my energy being soaked up by a sponge. My chakra level soon came to the level that was to put me into a death verge. I began to see… mirages? I saw my… mom. She had a worried look on her face. Then I saw a man that looked like Kakashi, my dad. They touched my body; I felt like they were saying something to me.

"_You need to let go…" _I heard her bell like voice.

"_You're killing yourself with this… you need to let go."_ A gruff, yet gentle voice chimed in. I turned to my opposite direction from where I was looking. It was dad. He was smiling at me. Then I saw a blue barrier, a soft blue barrier with mild chakra shielding Orochimaru and me. I saw all of the people that I didn't now. But they were mirages to me, so I assumed they were killed by Orochimaru or other people who cared for me.

"_Come on, you need to let go…" _my mom called. I counted

"One… two… three!" I let go and immediately threw myself on the ground. I began to cough up tons of blood. I looked up and my vision became blurry. But I know that the "Four Cornered Barrier," lost its effect. I couldn't move. I was a sitting duck.

* * *

(Kakashi's POV)

_SHIT! She's going to die at this rate!_ My mind raged and I charged towards Zoe. But I saw all of the mirage (or at least that's what I think it is) disappear, except two. They were watching over Zoe.

"Oh, how sweet, your parents are watching you…" I heard Orochimaru spat. I anger grew and charged towards Zoe, ready to defend her, ignoring Naruto, Sakura, and Sai's call. But I wasn't fast enough, my legs felt like someone was stabbing needles on every inch of it. I saw the horror in my eyes. Orochimaru transformed into a snake, except he had his creepy, long hair. Then he slid towards Zoe and tightly wrapped her around with his snake body. He had this evil look on his eyes. But, unexpectedly, something happened.

"It seems like I have underestimated her. I'm not ready to take her with me, but I'll mark her…" then a long tongue licked on her neck. I saw her eyes bulge and pop open. It seemed like acid. She started to scream on top of her lung.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!! GAHH!" she screamed. It was so agonizing and shrilling. She bit her lips to fight her oncoming scream. Then her lips began to bleed because she was biting into them so hard. He dropped her on the ground, and then he disappeared. Both of her hands were holding where Orochimaru had licked her. I ran towards her and took her in my arms. Then I turned my attention to the two mirages. I could feel my eyes widen so much that if someone tapped my head right now, they would fall out. My parents were together. They were smiling at me.

"_You did well, 'Kashi… You kept her safe."_ I heard my mother's voice ring.

"What are you talking about? She's on the verge of death right now!" I was frantic. The fact that this was the first time I felt like this made me feel more frustrated at myself.

"_Don't worry, she'll be fine…"_ I gave my father the attention this time. He had his hand on my shoulder and smiled at me. The smile he had given me before he died from committing suicide. I looked down at Zoe. Her eyebrows were arched and she was sweating heavily. Her lips and chin was covered in blood.

"_Keep up the good work…"_ that was the last thing they said and they dissolved into thin air. I saw Sakura running towards me, well us, along with her other two teammates. She began to heal Zoe in my arms. I didn't realize I was shaking until Naruto brought it up.

"Whoa Kakashi-sensei… you're like shaking… Are you ok? You look like you've seen a ghost," the blond asked. Well, technically, I did see two ghosts.

"I'm fine," I replied with a shaky voice. I watched Zoe's face ease a bit as Sakura began to heal her.

* * *

(Zoe's POV)

_Ow, ow, ow, ow… damn… it BURNS!_ My mind was just flustered as I laid flat in the middle of the darkness. I slowly opened my eyes and saw a blurry Kakashi, looked down at me.

"Stay with us Zoe, fight it…" Kakashi croaked.

"Yeah, Zoe-sensei… stay with us…" Sakura added.

"Fight it Zoe-sensei!!!" Naruto boomed. Ow… that was a bit loud for me. But I couldn't… I couldn't fight it… my eyelids became heavy and everything turned black. The last thing I remembered was Kakashi yelling my name.

* * *

Whoa... talk about a cliff hanger...


	5. Again

**Again**

**Zoe's Point of View**

**Keys:**

_**Dream thoughts (Zoe's point of View)**_

_Thought shots or sounds_

"Dialog…"

If any flashbacks occur, the warning: "**FLASHBACK**" will show.

* * *

Everything was pitch black when I woke up. I was standing in the middle of no where. I looked around franticly and saw a white light far away from me. I began to run towards the light, as long as I get to get out of here, I'm going for it. I slowed down as I reached the light. When I reached for the light, I heard a voice, calling. It was a low, trombone like voice.

"Zoe, please wake up. Don't give up, wake up and come back to us!" said the voice. It sounded so familiar to me, who was it…? Then I heard another voice, this one was pretty loud and had this tone, very hyper tone.

"Zoe-sensei, you have to come back to us!" and a female voice chimed in.

"Please, return to us!" When I turned away from the voices and looked at the light. It started to fade. I took another step forward, and heard a loud, demanding voice.

"Is this your final decision?" it asked.

"What are you talking about?" I asked the darkness.

"Are you going to leave those who are waiting for you and move on to the next life?" it repeated. So that was it! The light was the next life. So that means the darkness is me in coma, I guess.

"No, I still have my brother… I want to return to them," I answered.

"Then step away from the light, you are not ready for the next life," that was all it said and the light disappeared.

_Ok, so I didn't die yet… now how the hell am I supposed to get out of here!_ There wasn't like an arrow to guide me, or an usher who tells you what to do when you're stuck. Then I heard another voice, this one had an evil tone to it… deep as tuba.

"Hahahahahha… you think you can escape me? The darkness always overcomes the light!"

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" I yelled.

"What can _you_ do, a girl who's been out cold for three months?" the voice yelled. "Soon the medic is going to pull the plug anyways."

"What, you mean I've been under a coma for such a long time? And… now they've lost hope… almost…"

"Haha… you can never be awakened, not while I'm here!"

I began to form the hand signs: snake, ram, monkey, boar, horse, and tiger.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

"NO! Too much… LIGHT!" and the darkness disappeared. As the darkness disappeared, I saw white all around. So, they gave up on me. Then I heard a voice. Sounded like… Tsunade-sama?

"If she doesn't wake up with the next five minute, she won't ever wake up! Shizune, start timing five minutes. The rest of you, start saying your final farewell to Zoe." WHAT? But… but… but I'm alive! My vision and hearing became clearer. I heard a pattern of "hiss…click…" and I saw an oxygen mask. I looked around and saw that there was a huge machine that was measuring my heart rate and my brain activity. But it seemed like everyone was paying attention to Tsunade-sama. OYYY I'm awake!

"But, Tsunade-baachan! Just give her one more day! I'm sure she'll come around by then!" an obnoxious voice yelled.

"No, if she doesn't wake up in… Shizune how long has it been?" Tsunade asked.

"It's been two minutes milady. In three minutes, we'll pull the plug." Shizune replied. I heard a long sigh, not far from me. I looked towards my left and saw Kakashi. He was sitting next to me, waiting for me to wake up. I only saw his side of face. Then I looked down and saw his hand. I reach for it and managed to touch it. I saw him flinch and everyone else seems to have caught him. His head slowly turned and his one eye met my eyes. His eye widened and I felt him squeeze my hand.

"Not… so hard… onii-san…" I managed to choke out. My throat so was dry.

"Yeah! She woke up!" Naruto's voice boom across the entire hospital room.

"Zoe-sensei," I heard Sakura's voice call. I looked away from Kakashi, looked straight forward and saw Naruto and Sakura. Naruto had a grin stretched from ear to ear and Sakura was bursting into tears.

Then I looked at Kakashi again. He was frozen solid, didn't move an inch since I looked away from him to look at his students.

"Hey, onii-san," I smiled.

"You're… alright…" he said, once he managed to find his voice. I felt the oxygen mask coming off and felt a glass on my lower lips. I looked to my right and saw Shizune holding a glass of water at my lips. I drank as much as I could. It felt so refreshing. Once I got my water, I began to sit up. Man, did I feel like an old lady or what. I've been lying down for far too long. Once I manage to sit up right, I saw Tsunade-sama's brown eyes. She looked relieved.

"So, the sleeping beauty finally decided to wake up," she joked. I gave them a weak smile.

"Hey," was the only thing that came to my mind. And guess what, Naruto exploded.

"WHAT? IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY TO US? YOU WERE OUT COLD FOR THREE MONTHS AND NOW YOU WAKE UP ALL OF THE SUDDEN AND SAY WHAT?" he yelled. I sweat dropped.

"Well, what did you expect for me to say? My brain's been shut down for three months, according to you, you should be amazed the facts that I even remember your name," I retorted.

"Kakashi told us how things went," Tsunade-sama caught my attention.

"So, a mission failure huh," I mumbled.

"Yeah, but now we know what to expect when you and Team Kakashi go up again Orochimaru or Sasuke," Tsunade-sama didn't seem to upset over a failed mission. "All it matters right now is your safety and health." She finished with a smile. She looked at Kakashi and looked at me again. Then she looked at my two team mates.

"Alright; Naruto and Sakura, leave Kakashi alone with Zoe for a moment,"

"What? But…" _BAM_! Before Naruto even managed to say anything, Sakura got him to shut up and dragged his ass out of the room, leaving Kakashi and me alone. Damn, I hate awkward silences. I looked at Kakashi and his head was hanging low. Just as I was going to say something, he let go of my left hand, and walked towards the window. He stopped and looked outside. He seemed to be in a deep thought. He gave a long sigh and turned to me.

"You really scared me, you know that?" he began. I wanted him to go on, so I just remained silent. "The moment you laid before me, in my arms, dying, I thought of our father's dead body again, the same thing happening, over and over again," He walked towards me and sat at the foot of my bed. "Just, don't do that… ever again… I can't handle another death in my family member, not when that member is the last one."

"I'm sorry Onii-san, I won't do that again." I apologized, meaning every little word. I should really avoid trouble. I hated seeing Kakashi like this. I won't do this again, not when it tortured my older brother this much. Not again.

* * *

Yeah... cheesy ending...


End file.
